Police nix van service at UGA

The University of Georgia's police department has discontinued a van service designed to ensure students got home safely when they left work or class alone late at night.

The police department has ended the service, beginning this fall semester, because of continuing state budget cuts, said UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson.

The governor and legislature have reduced funding to UGA and other state colleges and universities by more than 23 percent since 2009 as state revenues declined during the Great Recession.

"All we're providing now is basic police services," he said.

Eliminating the van service will save his department about $50,000 a year, the chief said.

But more than 20 years after the van service began, it may also be redundant as well as unaffordable, Williamson said.

UGA officials launched the service amid concern about how safe the dimly lit and deserted UGA campus was for students late at night. Men as well as women didn't feel comfortable walking home alone from places like the UGA library.

The police van service was also available for people with disabilities that might interfere with trekking across campus.

But today, the campus is much better lit and there are a lot more people on campus, even late at night, he said. Students and workers also have other options for getting home safely.

"Just like a lot of things, things evolve," Williamson said. "It's not that anybody wanted to cut it, but for every government, every business, every aspect of what we do is changing. These economic (hardships) are requiring budgets to shrink and shrink."

Many of the people who called the police escort van for a ride in recent years used it for convenience more than for safety, he said, like four young men who called for a ride to play basketball at UGA's Ramsey Student Center.

Meanwhile, both Athens-Clarke and UGA bus systems have expanded their hours of service, especially the UGA system, he said.

"Our services are a lot better now than some years ago," agreed Ron Hamlin, manager of the UGA Campus Transit System.

UGA now runs bus routes through and near campus 24 hours a day Monday through Friday, he said. The transit system also offers van service for students and workers with disabilities. The fleet of five vans operates from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. six days a week, Hamlin said.

The UGA police department's crime prevention program is now on the chopping block, Williamson said.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has told state agency heads to prepare for another round of budget cuts, directing them to plan for a mid-year reduction of 2 percent as well as a 2 percent reduction in the 2013 fiscal year.